US deploys carrier strike group to Middle East amid Iran tensions

A US aircraft carrier and supporting warships have arrived in the Middle East, two US officials told Reuters on Monday, expanding President Donald Trump's capabilities to defend US forces, or potentially take military action against Iran.

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers have crossed into the Middle East region, which comes under the US military's Central Command, the officials told Reuters. Trump said on Thursday that the United States had an "armada" heading towards Iran, but hoped he would not have to use it.

The warships began deploying from the Asia-Pacific region earlier this month, as tensions between Iran and the United States escalated following a crackdown on protests across Iran.

Trump had repeatedly threatened to intervene if Iran continued to kill protesters, but the countrywide demonstrations have since abated. The president said he had been told that killings were subsiding and that he believes there is currently no plan for the executions of prisoners.

The US military has in the past surged forces into the Middle East at times of heightened tensions, moves that were often defensive.